Archeology

September 24, 2023

1,900-Year-Old Ancient Roman Swords Are Found in a Cave Above the Dead Sea

The ancient Romans are known for the empire they built by conquest. Stretching into three continents, the Roman government and its regional deputies ruled by both bureaucracy and force. Sustaining such an empire took legions of soldiers, thousands of pounds of armor, and massive collections of weapons such as swords. These were created by Roman blacksmiths and have been found scattered where they were once dropped or hidden around the former empire by modern-day archeologists.

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September 3, 2023

66-Million-Year-Old Fully Articulated Dinosaur Embryo is Discovered Inside of a Fossilized Egg

Back in a land before time, many dinosaurs laid eggs. With parents guarding their clutches, tiny baby dinosaurs might eventually emerge from incubating embryos. Yet this process is only occasionally captured in the fossil record. Fossils of nesting dinosaurs atop eggs, or of complete egg embryos, are quite rare. However, a fully articulated dinosaur embryo was discovered inside a fossilized egg held by a Chinese museum, according to a paper published in iScience in 2021.

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August 10, 2023

Ape-Like Hominids Made World’s Oldest Tools 3.3 Million Years Ago, Before Humans Did

Humans often think ourselves different from the animal kingdom, differentiated by our ability to think and create with tools. But in reality, apes, otters, birds, octopuses, and many other animals use tools, too. In fact, beyond not being the only modern creatures to use tools, humans were not event the first. Discoveries of stone tools have shown that early hominids, not “human” members of the later Homo genus, used stone flake tools in daily life.

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July 18, 2023

Researchers Discover New Extinct Species of Mini Penguins That Lived 3 Million Years Ago

Penguins are survivors. Modern species of the adorable birds withstand freezing temperatures or dive deep in swift currents. In fact, penguins have been doing their adorable thing for millions of years. Prehistoric penguin species date back to the days of the dinosaurs. A team of researchers in New Zealand have discovered one more member of the ancient family, a tiny and distinctly precious species newly known as Eudyptula wilsonae. Its name means Wilson’s little penguin.

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